By Surihe Gaomas WINDHOEK The home loan industry is fast becoming a lucrative business in the country, reaping immense benefits not only for clients but for estate agents and banks as well. With the high demand of housing in the country, there is also an ever-increasing market of buyers, with demand outstripping supply. Thus, at Standard Bank’s first home loans quarterly function, it was announced that estate agents through the financial institution have realized N$201 million in home loans between February and April this year. The latest achievement is part of the Standard Bank’s First Home Loan Campaign that started in February up until April 8 this year. Commending the various estate agents at a function on Friday, Managing Director of Standard Bank Theo Mberirua said this was a job well done. He expressed the hope that the sales figure would rise to a net value of N$800 million. In celebrating the occasion, close to 50 estate agents were awarded certificates for their hard work in service delivery in a competitive market. In most cases, estate agents approach the Standard bank division for home loans on behalf of the client, while the estate agents in turn receive commission at the end of the day. At the event, the estate agents were awarded prizes of N$5 000, N$3 000 or N$2 000, depending on the volume of business they brought to the bank. “Our clients that bought a house and financed it through Standard Bank were entered into a draw and qualified for N$3 000 off their monthly instalments for 12 months as winner,” added Mberirua before handing over the prizes. Once again, Lisa Engels of Lisa Engels Properties was announced as the Estate Agent of the Year and alongside her were other winners Hilda Louw from Joseph & Snyman and Jan Bald of Realtor Estates. The winning estate agency was Joseph & Snyman. In other towns, the overall winner was Jacky Hoff of Cornerstone Real Estate, while current Businesswoman of the Year Amalia Schmidt got the first prize followed by Joey Kaempffer and Amanda Human of J&B Estates. Mberirua also announced the bank’s new look that aims to make the bank focus on its client’s needs. The new motto “Inspired.Motivated.Involved” therefore builds on taking the bank to the next level of relevance to its customers, stakeholders and staff. “The new brand in essence highlights the fact that, although Standard Bank is all about numbers, it’s our people that truly make the difference to consumers and people’s lives on a daily basis. We strive to be inspired (we’re passionate and positive about what we do) and motivated (we’re committed and driven to deliver),” stated Mberirua. The second Standard bank Home Loans campaign started yesterday (May 1, 2006) and will run until the end of July. Estate agents are once again required to bring in N$5 million of their home loan business to qualify for a prize of N$5 000 from the bank during the second quarter function to be held in August this year.